Smart, Beautiful Kitchen Banquettes

A banquette is an easy way to add a casual and multifunctional element to any kitchen. It can act as a space for casual dining, homework, playing games, or reading the morning paper with a hot cup of coffee. Get inspired by some of our favorite kitchen banquettes.

A recent remodel of this home opened up space in the kitchen for an adjoining breakfast nook with a long L-shaped banquette. Lively tangerine-hued pillows and the chairs’ leather upholstery pop against the banquette’s powder-blue cushions. A glass-topped table and easy-to-clean fabrics make the area kid-friendly and usable.

This large table with banquette and chairs serves as a dining area when the homeowners entertain. The shorter side of the banquette has an extra-deep cushion, making the corner a cozy spot to recline and watch TV, read, or work on a laptop.

In this active family home, a custom banquette covered in “pleather” backs the kitchen’s island for creative seating in an easy-to-care-for material. The banquette’s nailhead trim reflects the graceful lines of the blue chairs from Barry Dixon.

A niche in this kitchen was “just calling for a banquette,” says designer Tobi Fairley, which she covered in a houndstooth fabric from Fabricut. The room’s elegant black-and-white palette is enhanced by the graceful balloon curtains and graphic striped rug underfoot.

This breakfast area is as functional as it is colorful. The curved banquette wraps around the large round table, and together provide enough seating for the whole family and guests. A vinyl sisal rug underfoot can be mopped, making cleanup a breeze. The bright coral-red palette is punctuated with black and white, like the playful dove pattern on the roman shades.

A cool blue-and-white palette keeps this breakfast area feeling fresh. Faux-ostrich vinyl from Kravet covers the tufted banquette, which is accented with blue-and-white ikat bolster pillows. A custom-laminated linen seat on the rattan chair keeps the area easy to clean.

Just off the kitchen, this banquette area plays double-duty as an additional dining area and family room. A desk area to the side provides space for books, papers, and a television for causal dining. The elegant balloon shades, area rug, and beautiful wooden dining chairs keep the space sophisticated for more formal occasions. The custom banquette, which seats up to eight people, was designed by Tres McKinney.

A metallic wall finish and amber-colored hand-blown light fixtures establish a warm ambience for this showhouse banquette area. Graphic fabric from Dedar covers the banquette and klismos side chairs for a contemporary touch.

Designed by Charles Faudree, this breakfast area boasts beautiful fabrics and delicate design details, like molding on the banquette and antique tole chandelier with dainty shades. Vintage garden prints on the walls give the space a touch of country charm.

An upholstered banquette for two is tucked in between two floor-to-ceiling pantries for plenty of kitchen storage space. A space-saving half-round table provides surface area for dining or homework, and can be moved to accommodate the dining room, which is just a few steps away.

This space-saving banquette is covered in a snappy polka-dot fabric from Lee Jofa and tucked underneath a set of cabinets for additional kitchen storage. A pair of wall sconces flanking the banquette and a trio of black-and-white prints above keep the snug space friendly and inviting.

Arched windows frame a country-chic breakfast area, where a long banquette seats a crowd at the oval dining table. Plush pillows and swing-arm lamps on either side of the banquette keep the space casual yet intimate.

Atlanta designer Robert Brown created this sunny breakfast room, which is furnished with a settee from Lee Industries, a Robert Allen leather armchair, and a wood-topped Henredon table that's suited for dining or paperwork.